Suspense Upgrades

Today's Suspense episode is You'll Never See Me Again. Robert Young stars in a new performance of this Cornell Woolrich story. It was originally presented with Joseph Cotten two years earlier.

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Newlywed Ed Bliss (the name may be an amusing joke about marriage) and his wife had an argument, and she storms out of the house. He figures she’d cool off and return after she stays at her mother’s home… but she’s not there. Bliss starts looking for her… and the story is not what it seems. Why? Because it’s a Woolrich story on Suspense, that’s why.

Today's Suspense episode is Hunting Trip and stars Vincent Price and Lloyd Nolan. Two men who had affection for the same recently deceased woman go on a hunting trip. One holds deep anger over the way she was treated. Various near-miss accidental situations almost end up as fatal. This is a hunting trip in the great outdoors, so you just know there has to be an accidental shooting in the story. That would be too obvious. There’s a poisoning instead. Be certain which cup is yours before you drink from it.

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Roma and its ad agency are still bumbling around to find most effective ad format. They started giving away baskets of wine to the guests and staging brief chats with William Spier before the closing announcements. The post-WW2 wine market is much different than it was in wartime, and ads change focus to different products in the Roma offerings. It's a sign that the new owners of Roma were still having trouble monetizing the full value of their weekly Suspense investment. It's a classic marketing problem today, just as it was almost 80 years ago.

Today's Suspense episode is Till the Day I Die and stars Dane Clark. It's another story where coincidences abound, but they're supposed to. The episode is written to parallel the Biblical account of Cain and Abel. We know that's true because author Michael Ryerson hid the Biblical names in the names he used for the characters, and called them Cane and Abel. The upright and honorable man's last name was "Abel" and the one who wasn't had a last name of "Cane." You have to get up pretty early in the morning to get something so subtle past us.

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It's a good story with good performances. It won't be in any "top 10" lists of great Suspense, but it is of the series' higher standards of this period. Enjoy!

Today's Suspense episode stars Gene Lockhart in Statement of Employee Henry Wilson. It's a pre-Roma script that now gets the full-budget treatment. In addition to today's recordings, the blogpost will get you to that original broadcast, and the Suspense Magazine and Suspense comic book adaptations of the story.

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Henry Wilson is very unhappy about being questioned about his office work. He decides that killing his boss is a solution to the problem. It’s not. That happens sometimes.

Lockhart starred in the original broadcast. He's the father of June Lockhart (Lassie's TV mom, and the mom on Lost in Space). The pair are one of four parent and child actors who appeared in productions of Suspense.

Today's Suspense episode is Three Times Murder with Rita Hayworth, and is her only appearance on the series. She plays a conniving murderess whose life becomes intertwined with a corrupt money-grubbing lawyer. At one point in the story, you're likely on the side of Hayworth’s character as a victim of accident and a corrupt prosecutor. That doesn't last for long. They are dreadfully awful people and part of the entertainment of the story is finding out who will get the other in the end.

Like some of the recent episodes, there are a bit too many "it just so happens that..." coincidences in the plotline. But it is amusing when it turns out that the corrupt prosecutor is the half-brother of her new husband! The role is played by Hans Conried, just back from military service, who is marvelous here. Accept the implausibilities as they come for some superb performances.

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The script was by Robert L. Richards and John DeWitt. DeWitt was the scriptwriter for the soap opera David Harum before entering the service. Some of the plot twists in this episode are “soap-opera-like” but it all take place in about 24 minutes of drama. It is easy to imagine how a network soap opera could have dragged these coincidences and plot turns out for weeks and weeks and weeks of daily episodes!

Today's Suspense episode is A Plane Case of Murder and stars John Lund. Robert L. Richards’ story requires some close listening to keep track of how two despicable double-crossers work to double cross each other. The murder plot, the construction of alibis, the double-cross framing for the crime, and the overall storyline rely on how and when the characters fly private planes in and out of a private runway to commit murder. It can be a bit complicated, so this is not an episode you just let play in the background and follow along as it goes along.

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The plotline could easily be achieved no matter what form of transportation is used to execute it. Making private planes the hook for it was an interesting idea. Private aircraft were expensive, and most of the general public had never been on a commercial flight. That fact would make the attraction and fascination with the story more interesting for listeners who were curious about what flight travel was all about.

Today's Suspense episode a rare “novelty” one, The Man Who Thought He was Edward G. Robinson. It plays on the notoriety of its guest’s typecasting to create a silly but entertaining story that is played mainly for fun. The script was written by Lesley Raddatz, a worker in the CBS press department and his only script. He had a long career as a successful and well known media writer for TV Guide and Variety.

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A henpecked husband sees Robinson’s famous movie, Little Caesar, and decides to emulate Robinson in his daydreams and his daily interactions. When his wife discovers this personal secret and insults his masculinity, he decides that he must kill her. It “just so happens” that the real Edward G. Robinson plays along with the husband’s fantasy then works in the background to prevent the husband from acting on his plans.

How the cast did not burst out laughing during the performance is mildly amazing. They must have gotten it out of their systems during rehearsals.

Even the music gets in on the fun, playing it up as a serious and exciting story. This episode is the first hearing of what some refer to as “The Suspense March,” often heard at the end of Suspense episodes in the 1950s and used as closing filler in AFRS recordings of those programs.

Today's Suspense episode is Dame Fortune and stars Susan Hayward. An unsavory ex-acquaintance phones her at her wedding anniversary party and says he’s out of jail and they have to meet. Uh-oh. That can only mean one thing on Suspense. Her husband knows nothing about her past life and this makes her a prime candidate for blackmail to keep it quiet. This never goes well and someone always seems to end up murdered.

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When Hayward sings “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” it is actually the then-Mrs.-Spier, performer Kay Thompson at the microphone. She is uncredited in the role.

The story is by Max Wilk and E.R. “Ted” Murkland, and adapted by Robert Richards. Wilk and Murkland were screenwriting collaborators for a while, with Wilk having a longer and more notable career. Wilk and Murkland’s story concept could have started as a screenplay idea. There are many plotline events that are clearly condensed for a radio production.

Today's Suspense episode is Lazarus Walks with Brian Donlevy. It's a much better telling of this story than its original broadcast on 1943-10-19 with Orson Welles. That broadcast was rushed into the schedule when they had to delay Donovan's Brain from October 1943 to May 1944. Aside from the benefit of the bigger Roma Wines budget this time, they had more time to plan, have better effects and music, and give room to Hans Conried to enhance his prior performance. The episode has its amusing and preposterous moments that make it a very likeable episode.

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Today's Suspense episode is Easy Money and stars Jack Carson. He's a down-on-his-luck pianist who spurns the marriage desires of his long-term girlfriend. He promises to ask his “ex” for a divorce when he learns that she is in town. The story includes paranoia, poison, a Macaw (yes, a Macaw!), and the desire to make a big score of $50,000 (which is more than $700,000 in today's money). Easy money never is, and it's not this time, either. Oh, and there's a famous zoologist who helps solve the crime by indirect reference... but he's been dead for four years! (Don't tell the folks in the continuity department).

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The script is by Sidney Renthal. He was a Chicago-based scripter who wrote for The Whistler, First Nighter, and other series.

Today's Suspense episode is The One Who Got Away and stars Hume Cronyn who delivered some fine performances on the series. This time he's a bank auditor who blackmails an embezzling teller to commit murder. They will trade their individual silence about the teller's years-long embezzling and the auditor's corruption and coercion in arranging the murder of his nagging wife. Cronyn is engaging at the microphone, and Hans Conried plays the auditor who is trapped in the circumstance beyond his making.

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The script is by James P. Keene, but there are no other media records of an author with this name. It's a pseudonym of author William Everett Cook who used the name “James Keene” in many of his western stories and novels. Cook was 25 at the time of this broadcast, writing the script years before his career blossomed into its ultimate success.

Today's Suspense episode is Drive-In and stars Judy Garland in her only performance on Suspense. The episode was strongly promoted and received much listener attention. Her celebrity and fan affection made it one of the most popular Suspense episodes for decades among classic radio program collectors, Garland memorabilia collectors, and other nostalgia aficionados.

The story about a young waitress kidnapped by a homicidal maniac was first performed with Nancy Kelly on 1945-01-11. The blogpost has details about that first performance and the storyline.

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Garland's appearance was in gratitude to Kay Thompson (Mrs. Spier) who was godparent to Judy’s newborn daughter, Liza. (Ira Gershwin was the other godparent). Garland was 24 at the time of this broadcast. Thompson would be a lifelong friend and was a mentor to Liza Minelli throughout her career.

The blogpost has details about a special rehearsal recording that was likely done with Garland to finalize the nuances of the role and script and have greater command of her starring performance.

greybelt wrote:

Today's Suspense episode is Easy Money and stars Jack Carson.

(Images are as worthy of polish as Audio!)  



Best,
- Craig

Today's Suspense episode is The Strange Death of Gordon Fitzroy and stars Chester Morris. It's not one of the best of the Roma period and its surprise ending doesn't have the best foundation prepared for it. Spoiler alert: the story plays on popular misconceptions about the effectiveness of that era's plastic surgery and another popular story theme of mistaken identity. It could have been done better.

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A man goes to prison and holds a grudge against his collaborator in the failed robbery and insurance fraud for ratting him out. The explosives used to open a safe in that robbery went awry, and the man suffered severe facial injuries. He serves his prison time... and now he's out to even the score with his former partner in crime.

Twenty-six-year-old Bruce Cassiday authored the script in a career that included scripts for many series such as Grand Marquee, Grand Central Station, and others. He became a prolific writer for more than five decades for pulps, magazines, television, and writing paperback adaptations of TV shows and movies. He wrote in many genres, including spy thrillers, medical novels, science fiction, and others. When he wasn't busy he was ghost writing celebrity biographies and serving as an editor for book and magazine publishers.

Today's Suspense episode is the favorite The House in Cypress Canyon by Robert L. Richards. It was performed only once on Suspense. Its popularity was not contemporary. It is yet another example of how an episode's stature grew among classic radio fans who were able to play it again and again and savor its quality. It's much like what happened with The Hitch-hiker. It is a mainstay of radio fans and nostalgia broadcasters as part of their Halloween playlists. It is in most all collector "top 5" lists for the series.

The blogpost has a lot of background about the original name of the script and why it was changed, why "Sam" the detective in the story has no last name (but we all know who it is), the big Hollywood star was originally cast in the story before Robert Taylor got the role, the other series that used the script, and more.

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It's a good one, and Hans Conried is superb. He plays the role of the sales agent, but also supplies many of the scary sounds!

greybelt wrote:

Today's Suspense episode is the favorite The House in Cypress Canyon by Robert L. Richards. It was performed only once on Suspense. Its popularity was not contemporary. It is yet another example of how an episode's stature grew among classic radio fans who were able to play it again and again and savor its quality.

(Catching up...)

One of those I always want to like, but...

"It's a detective yarn... no, it's a haunted house story... no, it's a werewolf tale!" It's three, three, THREE shows in one!

I mean, make up your minds, guys!

But overall, the recent batch is a real golden era of SUSPENSE. Thanks as ever, Joe & Co. Maybe see some of you at Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Con.

- Craig

Today's Suspense episode is They Call Me Patrice and stars Susan Peters. The Cornell Woolrich story was adapted by Robert L. Richards. The broadcast's backstory and Peters are fascinating. Her fine performance after a gun accident with her own rifle almost two years before… no matter how improbable the plot would be in real life with current day forensics... is mesmerizing.

Consider this Radio Life report: "days in advance of the broadcast, the actress had been sent the wrong script, and the mistake wasn’t discovered until she arrived at Columbia Square just a few hours before air time." That means Peters first saw this script at the desk reading about six hours before broadcast!

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Too briefly: Peters' character is in a train accident where fellow travelers die and she is mistakenly identified as a young newlywed. She realizes the error in the hospital where she recovers and decides to assume the deceased's identity and start a new life. Her sinister ex-husband learns about the identity ruse, tracks her down and blackmails her.

It's a good story, and her performance is compelling. It is hard to believe that she was not even 26 at the time of this broadcast, and she would pass away just six years later. The accident left her paralyzed, yet as she recovered she performed again in theater and in film. The blogpost has more background and links about her 1951 TV series.

Today's Suspense episode is The Thing in the Window. Joseph Cotten is superb in a Lucille Fletcher story. Cotten's character has an evil scheme designed to get the apartment he wants during the post-WW2 housing shortage. This is one of the series’ best episodes.

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Fletcher's unique hook for the story is the foresight of the the character to pursue the apartment in a plan that diminishes its rental value, reduces the competition for the apartment, and results with him getting it at a price that would otherwise be impossible. He plays neighbors and others for patsies, with stories of a murder. He embarrasses them into cooperation through his faked sincerity, and making them feel insensitive to grave acts being performed while they selfishly went about their daily lives.

Today's Suspense episode is Philomel Cottage (for the third time) and stars Lilli Palmer (for the first and only time). It's a fine presentation. But don't miss the flub of Alfred Hitchcock's name by Bill Johnstone at the end of the east broadcast! You can hear the cast chuckle in the background and announcer Ken Niles can barely finish the station ID. But why was Hitchcock's name mentioned?

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The backstory behind the repeat is so curious. In the original plan for a Suspense series, Hitchcock was supposed to be for Suspense what deMille was to Lux. But it could not work out. He didn't even appear in the Forecast audition, and Suspense had to be reformulated into a different show and fought for to ever get on the air. But William Spier and Hitchcock were good friends, and the plan was for Hitchcock to appear on Suspense on this date in The Wax Works! He obviously never did and a few months later, Claude Rains starred in its presentation (the episode remains as missing). Spier had a file drawer of favorite scripts to pull out in an emergency, and Philomel Cottage was one of them.

PLEASE NOTE: THESE POSTS WILL RESUME ON SUNDAY September 10 after a brief hiatus to catch up on various projects.

Today's Suspense episode is Tree of Life and stars Mark Stevens. There is an inside joke throughout the story about Stevens (that many film gossip fans may have known at the time) and there is a touching backstory about the author attribution and development of the script.

1947 is an eventful roller-coaster of a year for Suspense, and they are summarized and put in perspective at the opening of the blogpost.

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Stevens is excellent in the role of a husband caught in a combination mistaken address and mistaken identity story that involves the contract killing of a neighbor's wife... except it's his wife who is murdered. He has to go along with the hit men's mistake to preserve his own life. But there's a twist in the story that means his involvement may have been accidental, but he had his own sinister intentions.

Today's Suspense episode is The Will to Power. It stars "the heel with sex appeal," character actor Dan Duryea. He portrays a private secretary to a wealthy but sickly man. He schemes with the man’s wife to take all the he has… including her… and to marry her… then he frames her for the crime! He aims to get a portion of her inheritance! A blackmailer sniffs out the plot and the evil plan goes awry.

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The script was written by Frank Taubes who wrote for Inner Sanctum, Counterspy, Nick Carter, and others, and also detective pulps. He was behind the story idea for 1961's cult favorite 3-D movie "The Mask." In the 1950s and 1960s Taubes became a noted advertising executive and was a founding director of the Muscular Dystrophy Association of America.

There are times listening that you think Duryea could have been a good choice to be The Whistler. And other times you wonder if SNL's Jon Lovitz might have been inspired by Duryea's voice for his skit character "The Liar," yeah, yeah, that's the ticket, Duryea, that's right, Duryea imitated ME right from the beginning, yeah, that's the ticket. (Lovitz says he was just imitating a generic 1930s film characterization). At the end of 1947, Duryea is great in The Man Who Couldn't Lose. That will be a few weeks from now.

Today's Suspense episode is Overture in Two Keys and stars Joan Bennett. The episode was written by Malvin Wald, author of the story that became the 1948 movie The Naked City. The story and movie set the pattern for police procedural film and television for decades. The story was adapted by Pamela Wilcox.

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Bennett stars as the neglected wife of a famous pianist and composer. He is somewhat deaf, a fact made abundantly clear in the beginning scenes of the story. You know it will play a role in the plotline. Listen for it! (Sorry, could not resist saying that). The composer mentors individual up-and-coming talent, and Howard Duff has that role. In yet another plotline of unhappy spouses and a budding affair, his student is very attracted to Bennett’s character. They create a scheme that will lead the husband’s demise. But wait… this is Suspense, so evil acts are never wrapped in a package you expect. In this case, the ending is like The Whistler or The Diary of Fate.

This is the first of two appearances on Suspense by Bennett. She had a very long and successful acting career, but many nostalgia fans remember her for appearances on the TV serial Dark Shadows.